The Pittsburgh Steelers rank in the top 10 in defensive scoring and yardage, including second in the former. They have the fourth-most takeaways with 13, a top-five rushing defense, and a top-five red-zone defense. On paper, you might think they don’t have much to complain about.
You would be wrong, however, because the Steelers’ defenders are doing a lot of complaining about themselves. According to ILB Patrick Queen via the Steelers’ website, they are “so aggravated walking around here right now.”
“There’s just so many more plays out there that we can create that we let up,” he said.
The Steelers just beat an Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets team by holding them to 15 points. You don’t hold Aaron Rodgers to 15 points very frequently — even if he is 2-5 now this year. But all season, they have only allowed 101 points in seven games, or 14.4 per game.
Queen said for the Steelers, it’s “just knowing that we can get better. It’s what we do. It’s what they preach, and I think it can only get better.”
“It’s just small plays here and there,” Queen continued. “Tackling, a few breaks in coverage, small stuff that we know we can get better at. That’s what we’re preaching right now, so that’s gonna be the focus this week, just capitalizing on those things.”
As a whole, the Steelers have capitalized on most of their takeaway opportunities, though not all. They had a huge miss in Week 5 that cost them a game when they failed to recover a fumble at the goal line in the waning seconds, eventually allowing the game-winning touchdown two plays later.
The Steelers do rank 22nd in passing yardage allowed this season, permitting 118 completions on 232 attempts for 1,521 yards. They have only allowed 8 passing touchdowns, though, which ranks eighth. And their 9 interceptions rank as the fourth-most in the NFL. In the running game, they allow the third-fewest yards and the fewest touchdowns.
Interestingly, the Steelers defense benefits from the best average starting field position. An average drive against lasts 5.6 plays over 28.2 yards.
While the Steelers are in the middle of the pack on third and fourth down, they are only allowing a touchdown on 42.9 percent of their red-zone opportunities. That mark is fourth-best in the league through Week 7, and they would like to keep it there.
Overall, the Steelers are more fortunate than most teams with their defense. However, the fact that they are so hungry to get better and eliminate their blemishes speaks to their perfection. Even as the offense continues to show more potency, they want to continue carrying the Steelers’ success.
